Returning player

[saryrn]

Hey guys i played for a few months when 99 first came out. Wondering how class population has changed. any classes in high demand? or classes that there are just way to many of? Thank you

[Slave]

Bards, Clerics, Rogues, in descending order of attractiveness to guilds.

[saryrn]

Awesome, thank you. love playing a cleric. how are wizards desirability?

[Dalron]

I just started a little bit ago so I only know about the low levels here. Way too many bards, rogues, necros and monks and hardly any tanks is what the pop is like at low levels. From what I've seen most people here are min-maxers which explains why it's that way. Not anything like the classic mix of classes was. Example: One Saturday evening I did a /w all warrior and out of 500+ people playing only 12 were warriors, lol!

Dalron - Healer of the 14th Circle of Light

[Silo69]

I just started a little bit ago so I only know about the low levels here. Way too many bards, rogues, necros and monks and hardly any tanks is what the pop is like at low levels. From what I've seen most people here are min-maxers which explains why it's that way. Not anything like the classic mix of classes was. Example: One Saturday evening I did a /w all warrior and out of 500+ people playing only 12 were warriors, lol!

Dalron - Healer of the 14th Circle of Light

warriors dont hold aggro well till the 40's and since this game has been out 10+ years people learned to use bards/sks/pallys/etc as tanks. You dont need to well round out a group to xp, you can duo, trio, 4 man, just get some competent players together use your various class tools and grind xp with the rest of us.

on my bard i was main tank for most groups till 43, sometimes i could grab a cleric,druid,shaman and or another dps caster rogue w/e fill in a spot use snare song and pixie and hold aggro better than a warrior, toss in chaotic feedback staff proc and hello main tank in plate

anythings possible quit typing and get online we have dragons to slay!

[Dalron]

I believe SK's and Pallys are considered tanks! Back in live I sometimes had to tank with my cleric when I was in a bad group, lol. I'm also not a min-maxer and don't care about the absolute fastest way to get exp, which is why I have never called it "grinding" since I have fun at any and all levels :)

I never said you couldn't do the things you said (duo, trio, etc), I just answered his question of classes, which ones are scarce and which are abundant from what I have seen. Was I wrong? Check for yourself and you'll see, but you probably already knew.

Dalron

[saryrn]

well i think ima start a cleric, and a wizard so if anyone is interested in running together send a tell to ocin

[HeallunRumblebelly]

I believe SK's and Pallys are considered tanks! Back in live I sometimes had to tank with my cleric when I was in a bad group, lol. I'm also not a min-maxer and don't care about the absolute fastest way to get exp, which is why I have never called it "grinding" since I have fun at any and all levels :)

I never said you couldn't do the things you said (duo, trio, etc), I just answered his question of classes, which ones are scarce and which are abundant from what I have seen. Was I wrong? Check for yourself and you'll see, but you probably already knew.

Dalron

They murder exp and tank worse than monks, so... <_<

But really, the best exp groups rarely have tanks period ~

[bulbousaur]

I have a monk in mid-50's, and I'd say 80% of groups he was the main tank.

[Tecmos Deception]

Wizards are desired by raiding guilds at nearly the same level as bards, clerics, and rogues. They are just pretty much hated for xp groups... so you'll be soloing a lot.

[Belz]

False. SK/Pally snap aggro.

Monk w/ Addy Club = Win Tank

DPS + DD Stun

[Ephirith]

False. SK/Pally snap aggro.

He wasn't saying sk's and paladins don't do anything better than monks.

The point is, all things considered, a monk brings more to the table in a greater breadth of situations. As a tank, a monk has more versatility in smaller comps (duo, trio). In full groups, monks can fulfill the tank role adequately while simultaneously bringing dps. You have to compare the marginal usefulness of snap agro to what a monk brings-- mitigation that is roughly the same, efficient pulling, and excellent dps. Snap agro allows your shaman to slow the mob 10 seconds earlier, is that worth losing the monk's massive dps? In most situations, probably not.

That said, I play a shadowknight, because I have fun with the class and I enjoy being the underdog so I can go on the forums and bitch about how monks are OP.

[Dalron]

As a cleric, I would take a Pally over a monk in my group every day of the week and twice on Sundays!

Dalron - Cleric of the 14th Circle of Light

[fadetree]

Me too. Any high aggro melee is going to do better with a snap aggro tank.

[webrunner5]

If the Monk is pulling he already has agro. You can't cast most spells till the mob is under 80% health I don't care who is the tank. Monks have crazy damage in this game like it or not. I'll take the monk thank you.

[Dalron]

Must not be a cleric, lol. I don't care about their damage, they have way too many negatives that offset it for me!

[fadetree]

Or, I might add, a ranger can snap aggro as well. Don't tank as well as Sk/Pally of course, but comparable to a monk and can aggro like a mofo.

[webrunner5]

I want the mob to die, and die quick. So I will still take the Monk, sorry.

[Ephirith]

Except that's not true? Try casting a Shaman slow on a mob at 80% HP when you have a Monk tank I guarantee you'll be tanking that mob until either you or the mob dies (unless you root it and step back). You'd have to wait until 65% or lower to cast slow reasonable safely. And if you're waiting till a mob is 1/2 HP to slow it, then that makes the high-mana cost of a slow extremely questionable..

On the other hand, with an SK or Pally in my group you can find me casting that slow as early as I want on my Shaman and not having to ping-pong aggro like a bunch of retards.

It's important to note that in this situation the shaman may not be able to slow until 80% or 65% (I disagree, having played a shaman and duoed with monks extensively), but the mob's health will be lowered to 80% or 65% significantly faster with a monk instead of a shadowknight or paladin. Any mana or life the shaman loses either from:

A) Late slows
B) Agro on slow

Will be mitigated by the fact that the monk is doing excellent dps to the mob.

As I said, there are countless situations where each class's distinctions have varying levels of usefulness and hybrid tanks will excel in some situations.

My point is, the monks ability to mitigate at roughly the level of a paladin/sk and provide excellent dps and pull without mana use make them a superior choice in the majority of circumstances.

If that isn't enough for you, just look at what happened on live after Velious. Luclin gutted monk survivability, added more dps for shadow knights, and gave paladins(lol) more stuns(mitigation, agro). Even Velious itself attempted to bring sk's/paladins up to par by restructuring their defensive skillcaps, but ludicrous monk itemization ensured monks still reigned supreme in that era.

Or, I might add, a ranger can snap aggro as well. Don't tank as well as Sk/Pally of course, but comparable to a monk and can aggro like a mofo.

Snap agro, yes-- but at this point in the game rangers take copious amounts of damage, particularly after level 40 when hybrid skillcaps heavily diverge from pure melee skillcaps. Note that at level 40, a ranger's defense caps at 200 and then it never goes up again.

Ranger:
Defense: 200
Dodge: 170
Parry: 220
Riposte: 150

Rogue:
Defense: 252
Dodge: 210
Parry: 230
Riposte: 225

Shaman:
Defense: 200
Dodge: 75

A ranger's mitigation isn't even close to a monk, paladin, or shadowknight. It is likely inferior even to a rogue. Add in the epic slow proc and things get interesting.

And again, I'm not bashing the merit of these classes. Hybrids are my favorite classes to play; I hate monks, I think they're boring. It's just important that you understand reality.

[fadetree]

Well, so far I've not had much trouble tanking when I've needed to. I have watched monks tank and haven't been convinced that it wasn't comparable. And yes, was after 40.

[Droog007]

As long as your mobs are rootable - you don't need snap aggro or monk dps aggro or taunt... if your group understands basic game mechanics you can choose who will be tanking 99% of the time, no matter how early the mob gets slowed.

[Slave]

As long as your mobs are rootable - you don't need snap aggro or monk dps aggro or taunt... if your group understands basic game mechanics you can choose who will be tanking 99% of the time, no matter how early the mob gets slowed.

Or until any party member or a pet uses a weapon with a DD proc. Oops.

[Belz]

Or until any party member or a pet uses a weapon with a DD proc. Oops.

Lol.

Doesn't matter, if it's rooted.

[Slave]

Lol.

Doesn't matter, if it's rooted.

DDs remove root.